Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Ehrenfels Castle - Germany

Back in January, Raquel went on a trip to the Rhine Valley in order to visit a few castles. This one can't be visited but it's location makes it one the most-photographed castles on the Rhine.

© Schoning GmbH & Co. KG
The ruins of Ehrenfels Castle are idyllically situated on a ledge in the midst of the vineyards between Rüdesheim/Rhine and Assmannshausen.
Around 1220, the Archbishop of Mainz had the former private castle, which had presumably been built around the year 1000, transformed into a mighty castle that served to levy very lucrative transit duties.
Due to its strategically important location fierce battles were fought for the castle in the Thirty Years’ War and it was finally burnt down in 1689. Afterwards the customs post was moved to Bingen and the remains of Ehrenfels Castle were left to fall into decay.
At the beginning of the 1990’s the land of Hesse, being the current owner of the ruins of Ehrenfels Castle, made funds for renovation available, saving the castle ruins from a fate of unabated decay. - in:
 http://www.kulturland-rheingau.de/en/travel-experience/well-worth-seeing/ensights/enruinsofehrenfelscastle/

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